Islam: the basics part 4, Za'kat

Salam wa' alikum

Continuing onto the next pillar of Islam is Zakah, or charity! Yes giving to charity is a requirement in Islam. The rules are pretty simple:

1. Muslims must give at least 2.5% of their total saved income per year.
2. Muslims must give at least once per year..

Who pays and how much?

Now not everyone has to pay, when I say "total saved income" I mean however much money, savings, assetts, property, cars, or extra that you earned and didn't use during the year. Things like that. Now if you earned as much as you needed to spend of food, clothes, etc, then you are not obligated to give Za'kat.

They ask you about intoxicants and gambling: say, "In them there is a gross sin, and some benefits for the people. But their sinfulness far outweighs their benefit." They also ask you what to give to charity: say, "The excess." GOD thus clarifies the revelations for you, that you may reflect. 2:219

Who gets Za'kat

Charities(Sadaqaat) shall go to the poor, the needy, the workers who collect them, the new converts, to free the slaves, to those burdened by sudden expenses, in the cause of Allah, and to the traveling alien. Such is GOD's commandment. GOD is Omniscient, Most Wise. [Qur'an 9:60]

 

What can you give for Za'kat?

Any charity you give, or a charitable pledge you fulfill, GOD is fully aware thereof. As for the wicked, they will have no helpers. 2:270

Benefits of Za'kat

Za'kat can be used as a powerful and fair system form of social security and unemployment. Since you only give if your able it doesn't force anyone into poverty or to give up income that you need, or could really use. And since it's based on a percentage, everyone pays equally and no one gets to cheat.

 

Those who give to charity night and day, secretly and publicly, receive their recompense from their Lord; they will have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve. 2:274

 

Support in Qur'an

 

Righteousness is not turning your faces towards the east or the west. Righteous are those who believe in GOD, the Last Day, the angels, the scripture, and the prophets; and they give the money, cheerfully, to the relatives, the orphans, the needy, the traveling alien, the beggars, and to free the slaves; and they observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) and give the obligatory charity (Zakat); and they keep their word whenever they make a promise; and they steadfastly persevere in the face of persecution, hardship, and war. These are the truthful; these are the righteous. 2:177

 

Conclusion

Insh'allah this post has helped muslims and non-muslims alike to understand what za'kat is.

 

 

 

 

 

Islam the Basics Part 3: Prayer

Salam wa'alikum,

Sorry it's been so long since my last post, a lot of personal problems have been happening lately! Now however, I am back and insha'allah, I will help everyone learn about prayer!

Prayer in the life of a muslim is extremely important! To muslims prayer is a direct audience with Allah (God) Himself. Islamic prayer does differ from Christianity slightly though. In Islam there are two types of prayer. Formal or Ritual prayer, and non-formal prayer. First I'll explain non-formal, then formal.

Non-Formal Prayer

Non-formal prayer is a prayer that can be anywhere any time for any reason. It can be aloud, silent, or even in your head. There isn't anything special you have to say or do have non-formal prayer. An example of having non-formal prayer would be if you were about to have a test and asked Allah for help to pass it.

Formal Prayer

Formal prayer, or Salah is a bit different, and this is really where Islamic prayer differs from Christian prayer. Formal prayer for Muslims is a requirement of the faith. There are 5 certain times throughout the day that a muslim must stop and have prayer. These times are generally judged based on the placement of the sun in the sky. The times are as follows:

• Fajr - Morning prayer - 2 required, 2 before sunnah
• Dhuhr - Noon Prayer - 4 required, 4 before sunnah, 2 after sunnah
• Asr - Afternoon prayer - 4 required, 2 before sunnah
• Maghrib - Evening prayer - 3 required, 2 after sunnah
• Isha - Night prayer - 4 requied, 2 after sunnah
• Vitr - End of day prayer - odd number sunnah

You'll notice that even though I said there were only 5 certain times, but 6 prayers. That's because in Islam, there are required prayers and sunnah prayers. Just as it might imply, required prayers are a must, if a muslim does not do these, its considered a sin, however sunnah prayers are optional! These are simply extra prayers that the Prophet (SAW) used to do in addition to the required prayers. As an example, for Dhuhr prayer, you could do 4 sunnah, then the 4 required, then 2 more sunnah!

Now I know what you're thinking, why number prayers? Well thats because of how prayers are preformed in Islam. Unlike Christianity, where you kneel and prayer, Islamic prayer is a full body/mind experience. Prayers are measured in "ra'kat". So if a prayer has 2 required, you need to do 2 ra'kat. One ra'kat goes something like this:

1. Standing straight up, lift you hands to your ears.
2. Say "Allahu Akbar" (God is greater) while moving your hands to your stomach, right hand over left.
3. Recite the first chapter of the Qur'an, Al-Fatiha.
4. Recite one other chapter of the Qur'an
5. Bend at the waist into a 90 degree angle, while saying "Allahu Akbar"
6. Say "Sub-hanna Rab-be-el Ad-eem" or "Glory be to God" 3 times.
7. Stand back up straight saying "Allah Akbar".
8. Kneel down placing your forehead against the ground saying "Allahu Akbar"
1. It's important to note that your forehead, knees, toes, and both hands should be flat on hte ground at this point.
9. Say "Sub-hanna Rab-be-el Allah" 3 times.
10. Sit up on your feet saying "Allahu Akbar"
11. Say "Lord forgive me of my sins".
12. Place your forehead back on the ground like before and say "Sub-hanna Rab-be-el Allah" 3 times.
13. Stand back up saying "Allahu Akbar"

Now it's important to remember that this is only a very simplified version. The full prayer has a lot of different wordings and phrases to say, and is usually done in all Arabic as well. It's also important to remember that this is only one ra'kat, even the shortest required prayer has to be 2 ra'kat.

A lot different than Christian prayer huh?

Islam: the basics Part 2: Belief in God

Salam wa'alikum,


   Now that you have a brief overview of the five key concepts, sometimes called the 'Pillars of Islam' the next thing is to understand what each one means.
 
   The first Pillar is "belief in the unseen." You could probably guess that this part of the verse is talking about belief if God, but how does the Muslim/Islam concept of God differ from other religions?


    For now I'll use Christianity and Judaism for comparison.


    Like in both Judaism and Christianity, Islam holds that Allah (God) created the entire universe and everything in it. Islam also teaches that because of this Allah should get our praise and worship. And just like with both Christianity and Judaism, Islam tells that Allah is omnipresent, knows all, and helps guide humans who ask for help. There's a lot more in common, in fact; Islam actually says that Allah is the same as the God of the Israelites and the God that Jesus spoke of.


   Even with all those things in common, there are some key differences. The biggest difference between Christianity and Islam is that Islam believes Allah is not begotten or begets, meaning; Allah was not born or created, and He does not have any children. While Judaisms portrayal of Allah is closer than that of Christianity, it still isn't in perfect alignment.  For example in the first chapter of Genesis of the Torah when re-counting the story of creation. Genesis claims that Allah created the Earth in six days, but then had to rest on the seventh. Islam rejects the idea that Allah needs rest. Rest is something for imperfect beings to recharge, since Allah is perfect He doesn't require rest.


   So as you can see Islam has it's own unique idea of what Allah(God) is and isn't.


   If you have any questions please do leave a comment and I'll try to answer it as soon as I can.

Islam: the basics Part 1: Overview

As-Salamu Alaykum!
Peace be upon you friends!


The first thing I thought I should adress is the very basics of Islam~!


      Islam isn't actually something new, it's been around for some 1400 years! Islam was established by the Prophet Muhammad(PBUH), through the inspiration of Allah, over the extent of 23 years. The prophet(PBUH) received his first revelation at the age of 40 while meditating in a cave outside of Makkah in Saudi Arabia. The Prophet(PBUH) continued to receive these revelations until his death at the age of 63, thus completing Islam as it is today.


      There are five things you must believe in to follow Islam and be a muslim. And the Holy Qur'an tells exactly what they are

"This Book, there is no doubt in it, is a guide to those who guard (against evil).Those who believe in the unseen and keep up prayer and spend out of what We have given them. And who believe in that which has been revealed to you and that which was revealed before you and they are sure of the hereafter."(The Holy Qur'an 2:2-4).

   So what does that tell us? The five main beliefs (or Pillars) of Islam is

• Belief in Allah(God) and angels
• Keeping Prayer
• Zak'at (giving to charity)
• Belief in the prophet Muhammad, and all prophets before him (ie Adam, Noah, Abraham, Lot, David, and Jesus)
• Belief in the after life (ie Heaven, Paradise, Hell, Hellfire)

   Sounding pretty evil so far isn't it? In the next few posts I'll look into each of these five requirements, but there are a few more things I need to cover here first!

   So now that we have a basic idea of what Islam is, what exactly does it mean to be a moozlim? Well the word Muslim literally means a person who submits!(see Orgin) That's it~ no secret Arabic meaning or hidden phrasing, to be a Muslim just means to submit to Allah.

Again, this is just the very basics of Islam. If you want to know more about Islam, you can always read the Qur'an for yourself, or do a little studing...

• Read the Holy Qur'an
• Get Instant Help (click Live Help)
• Or Google Dr. Zakir Naik <-Amazing teacher

Why?

As-Salamu Alaykum!
Peace be upon you friends!


I've decided to create this blog (ask a moozlim) as a small bit of information about muslims and Islam, from the point of a regular person.


What I am:

• Muslim
• American
• Middle Class Worker (Janitor at the moment)
• Music lover

What Im not:

• Republican or Democrat
• Conservative or Republican
• Christian, Jew, or any other religion hater/basher
• Terrorist

Insha'Allah, I will be able to help debunk some of the  myths surrounding the hated moozlims and explain what our beliefs are!

If you have a speciffic question you would like adressed just let me know, and Ill make sure to put a special blog out to adress the question!